Mulled Cranberry Cider (Apple-Free)

Michael Eisenwasser

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A warm, apple-free mulled cider made with unsweetened cranberry juice, orange zest, and whole winter spices, sweetened with pure maple syrup.

Prep 5 min

Cook 20 min

Serves 6

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan

Ingredients

• 4 cups (950 ml) unsweetened cranberry juice (100 percent juice, no apple or pear blends)
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh orange juice (about 1 small orange)
• Zest of 1 orange, peeled in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
• Zest of 1 lemon, peeled in wide strips
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 star anise pods
• 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into thin coins (no need to peel)
• Fresh cranberries and extra cinnamon sticks, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Combine

1. Pour the cranberry juice and orange juice into a medium saucepan. Add the maple syrup and stir to dissolve.

Add the aromatics

1. Drop in the orange zest, lemon zest, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, cardamom pods, and ginger slices.

Simmer

1. Bring the pot to a bare simmer over medium heat, then drop the heat to low. Keep it at the barest simmer (small bubbles at the edges, not a rolling boil) for 15 to 20 minutes so the spices infuse without the juice turning bitter.

Taste

1. Taste the cider and add another teaspoon or two of maple syrup if you want more sweetness. Cranberry juice is sharp on its own, so adjust to your palate.

Serve

1. Ladle through a fine-mesh strainer into mugs. Garnish each with a fresh cinnamon stick and a few fresh cranberries floated on top.

Tips & Substitutions

• Do not use apple juice or store-bought mulled cider. Apple juice is high-FODMAP in usual serving sizes because of its excess fructose, and nearly every bottled mulled cider, wassail, or spiced cider at the grocery store is apple-based. Unsweetened cranberry juice gives you the same tart red base without the fructose.
• Buy 100 percent cranberry juice, not cranberry cocktail. The label should list cranberries (and maybe water) and nothing else. Cranberry cocktail is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup or cut with apple or pear juice, both of which push the drink high-FODMAP before the spices go in. Lakewood, Trader Joe's Just Cranberry, and R.W. Knudsen Just Cranberry are reliable picks.
• Cane sugar works if you are out of maple syrup. Swap in 3 tablespoons of cane sugar (plain white or light brown) for the maple syrup. Do not use honey or agave, both of which are high-FODMAP.
• Slow-cooker version. Add everything to a slow cooker and set it to low for 2 to 3 hours, or warm for up to 4 hours on a party table. Keep the lid on; if the flavor tastes mild, crack the lid for the last 30 to 60 minutes.
• Make it a cocktail. Pour 4 ounces of warm cider into a mug and stir in 1 ounce of dark rum, bourbon, or spiced rum per serving. The spices taste good with any of them. Keep pours at or below 1 ounce of spirits per serving since alcohol can be a gut irritant on its own.
• Batch for a crowd. Double or triple the recipe in a large pot. Strain once at the end and hold on the lowest burner setting, or transfer to a slow cooker on warm so guests can self-serve all evening.
• Dilute if cranberry runs too tart. Unsweetened cranberry juice is acidic, and some people find hot acidic drinks irritating even if the drink is still low-FODMAP. Cut the finished cider with 1 to 2 cups of water and a touch more maple syrup if it's too sharp for your stomach.
• Do not overboil. A rolling boil pulls bitter tannins out of the cinnamon and clove and cooks off the bright orange top notes. Low and slow is the move, the same way you would treat a good pot of glühwein.

Why This Works

Unsweetened cranberry juice works instead of apple juice. Most mulled cider recipes use apple juice, which is high in excess fructose and high-FODMAP even in small serves. Monash lists 100 percent cranberry juice as low-FODMAP at a listed serving size, and this recipe yields roughly 1 liter total, about six 150 ml (2/3-cup) mugs, so keep servings modest. You get the same deep red color and tart-sweet winter profile without the fructose hit.

Whole spices are low-FODMAP and fragrant. Cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom, and fresh ginger are all low-FODMAP in typical seasoning amounts, and steeping whole spices pulls the flavor out without the gritty texture or concentrated heat of ground spices. A bare simmer for 15 to 20 minutes is the sweet spot, long enough to bloom, short enough to avoid bitterness.

Maple syrup is the right sweetener. Pure maple syrup is low-FODMAP in typical portions, and 3 tablespoons spread across six mugs works out to about 1.5 teaspoons per serving, which is a very small pour. Honey and agave are both high-FODMAP from the first teaspoon, which is why they're out. Cane sugar is another safe swap if maple isn't on hand.

Orange zest and a splash of juice add brightness. A quarter cup of orange juice across six servings keeps each pour well under the Monash low-FODMAP orange juice serve size, and the wide strips of orange zest carry the oils that make mulled drinks smell like a holiday kitchen.

Storage

Strain out the spices before storing so the cider doesn't turn bitter or over-spiced. Let it cool, then refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days at 40°F (4°C) or below. Rewarm gently on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave in 30-second bursts — don't boil. The cider also freezes well for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before rewarming. If you're making this ahead for a party, cook it the day before, strain, chill, and rewarm the afternoon of so the house fills with the spice smell right when guests arrive.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.